Reuters: Wagner troops not leaving Central African Republic

Wagner Group forces that are stationed in the Central African Republic will not leave the country, but rather conduct a rotation of troops, a spokesperson for the Central African Republic told Reuters on July 8.

Wagner's short-lived insurrection on June 23-24, and financier Yevgeny Prigozhin's departure to Belarus, raised questions about the status of Wagner troops stationed abroad.

The government of Syria, in fact, assisted the Russian government with cracking down on Wagner troops within its country's borders.

The Wagner Group has been linked to several mining companies across the Central African Republic. Wagner mercenaries have also committed serious war crimes, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic, Mali, Syria, and Ukraine

Recent reports from the Central African Republic track large departures of Wagner personnel via plane. This has led some to speculate that the group is pulling out of the country, where the mercenaries have been in place since 2018 to help the government manage rebel insurgencies.

"It is not a definitive departure but a rotation. Some have left, and others will come," Central African Republic presidential spokesperson Albert Yaloke Mokpem said at a press conference.

US Treasury sanctions companies linked to Wagner Group’s mining operations

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against four companies and one individual connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group. The targeted entities engaged in illicit gold mining and trading in Africa to fund the mercenary company, according to the Treasury Department’s June 27 press release.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek